Gigabyte previews fresh EasyTune software for Haswell motherboards

Gigabyte continues to tease us with brief glimpses of its upcoming Haswell goodies. A handful of tightly cropped board shots were released a couple of weeks ago, and now we're getting a preview of the accompanying software. Gigabyte has posted screenshots of its next-generation EasyTune tweaking application, and it looks like quite a departure from the current incarnation.

As early as CES 2012, Gigabyte pledged to revamp its motherboard software. The existing collection of applications is rather dated, with inconsistent and sometimes clumsy user interfaces. This new version of EasyTune appears to be a big improvement, with a single application and consistent interface covering overclocking, power tuning, and fan control.

Based on the screenshot above, it looks like Gigabyte's Smart QuickBoost auto-overclocking scheme now includes an auto-tuning mechanism on top of its preset profiles. The auto-tuner should do a better job of honing in on a system's peak clock speed than the pre-baked profiles, which don't take system stability into account. Auto-overclocking mechanisms are great for newbies, and even seasoned overclockers can use them as a prelude to manual tweaking. EasyTune is likely to provide plenty of advanced options for folks who want to get their hands dirty.

Fan speed controls are also included in the new EasyTune app, complete with a profile graph that appears to offer multiple manipulation points. Current EasyTune implementations feature a similar fan speed graph, but with fewer points along the curve.

As platform integration makes motherboards more difficult to differentiate on the hardware level, features like firmware and software have become increasingly important. Modern motherboard software is certainly much improved over the throwaway apps and awful interfaces of yesteryear. The new version of EasyTune looks like a nice upgrade over Gigabyte's existing apps, and I'm curious to see how, ahem, easy it is to use. We should know soon enough; Haswell's official unveiling is just a month away.